A viral message circulating on Twitter, allegedly signed by a caregiver working in the emergency room, claims that a woman was diagnosed with breast cancer and appeared just after her vaccination against Covid-19.
“Here is exactly the type of dazzling recurrence that we have seen since the anti-Covid injections, this lady is finished”, affirms the caregiver in his message.
However, several inaccuracies suggest that this message is false.
According to an oncologist interviewed by "20 Minutes", "no evidence" shows an increase in the incidence of breast cancer following the introduction of vaccination against Covid-19.
Since the beginning of last week, a viral message has been circulating on Twitter and has been liked more than 2,500 times (not counting the 2,400 retweets).
The text would come from a doctor working in the emergency room: “Arrival of Mrs. X. 39 years old, fever.
Breast cancer diagnosed and treated” in six months between January and June 2022. And to add: “4 anti-covid doses in 12.2021, 01.2022, 03.2022 and 10.2022.
The SMS also quotes the words of a purported oncologist: “Here is exactly the type of meteoric recurrence that we have seen since the anti-covid injections, this lady is finished”.
Visibly angry, the Internet user believes that injections of the Covid-19 vaccine have led to increases in breast cancer.
However, this correlation has never been demonstrated.
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At the first reading of the message, an element intrigues.
The person lists the number of vaccine injections that the patient, Mrs. X, received. Between December 2021 and October 2022, she would have had four doses of vaccines over an eleven month period.
Stranger still, the first three doses were carried out over very short periods of time: one or even three months.
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But remember, the time between two doses was much longer.
On the website of the Ministry of Health, we can find the first measures adopted by the government at this time.
For a Pfizer vaccine, the time between the first and the second injection was 3 to 7 weeks.
Moreover, if the patient received her first dose in December 2021, the vaccination had already started more than seven months ago.
So there is a good chance that this vaccination schedule was completely invented.
“No evidence”
But back to the risks of breast cancer.
According to Barbara Pistilli, oncologist specializing in pathology at the Gustave-Roussy hospital in Villejuif, the annual incidence of breast cancer is increasing, but has been for almost thirty years.
However, it specifies: mortality is gradually decreasing.
According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), “in high-income countries, the age-specific breast cancer death rate fell by 40% between the 1980s and 2020”.
What has happened since the start of the vaccination against Covid-19?
"This increase in incidence remains rather constant over time and we have no evidence of an increase in the incidence of breast cancer following the introduction of the anti-Covid-19 vaccination", we replies Dr. Barbara Pistilli.
“We are not seeing any acceleration of cancers or aggravations,” confirms oncologist Jérôme Barrière, on his Twitter account.
⚠️⚠️ FAKE NEWS
I just received this
I'm blocked by this person so can't reply
This is FAKE!
We see no cancers accelerating or worsening
Again screenshot from unverified sources with quoted authority figure
👉🗑 pic.twitter.com/rbjvKebPJO
— Dr. Jérôme BARRIERE, MD.
(@barriere_dr) January 9, 2023
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The message also mentions “visible tumor masses” in the lung, liver, stomach or even the intestine.
However, according to the indications of the National Cancer Institute, most often, the organs affected by metastases during breast cancer are the liver, bones and lungs.
False positive results
Since the spring of 2021, specialists have however noticed “false positive” results during an ultrasound after a vaccine against Covid-19.
In a column published on April 29, 2021, radiotherapist and oncologist Dr Jean-Michel Vannetzel explains the context.
When screening for breast cancer, the radiologist will favor an ultrasound under the arm, called axillary.
However, vaccination can stimulate the immune system, "particularly in the lymph nodes".
This phenomenon, the oncologist Barbara Pistilli also noticed it at the Gustave-Roussy hospital.
An increase in the volume of the axillary lymph nodes can be perceived on imaging, “in the days that follow, sometimes even for a few weeks”.
In his op-ed, Dr. Jean-Michel Vannetzel asserts that this would lead to an “erroneous diagnosis of a possible breast cancer”.
Distinguish between reactive and suspicious lymph nodes
For the two specialists, everything ultimately depends on good communication between the patient and the doctor.
"Currently, radiologists and nuclear medicine doctors are used to first asking the question about vaccination to patients who carry out examinations and are able to distinguish between a reaction node [for vaccination] and a suspect node [affected by 'a metastasis] for which a biopsy or fine needle aspiration is necessary", specifies Dr. Barbara Pistilli.
In addition to the importance of informing your doctor of a recent vaccination, Dr. Jean-Michel Vannetzel recommends not to schedule vaccination before screening examinations for breast cancer.
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Covid-19
Covid vaccine
Cancer
Breast cancer